Fish net



A ATTORNEY.

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Aug. 11,' l1925.

Filed may4 28 1924 Patented Ang.. ll, ll925 JOSEH. LEE GOULDNG, OF PUNTAGORDA, FLORIDA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T FISH 1\T ET.

Application led May 28,

.'l 10 all whom if; may concern.'

Be it known that l, J'osnrii Lun GoULnN ING, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident ot Punt-a Gorday Charlotte County,Florida, have invented certain new and useful Fish Nets, the principlesof which are set torth in the following specification and accompanyingdrawings, which disclose the form of the inven` tion which lf nowconsider to be the best ot the various 'forms in which the principles otthe invention may be embodied.

This invention relates to fish nets ot the type adapted to catch largequantities of fish, such nets being usually from six to thirty feet deep(depending on the depth of water) and of a length trom six hundred totwo thousand feet and averaging about a thousand feet, according tocircumstances and the desires of the fisherman.

The object ot the invention is to provide a construction of net wherebyless fish will be lost, less will be gilled, and a single net may beused to catch fish of various sizes in lieu of having a number of netscach having meshes adapted to gill fish oi a given size.

rllhe invention consists ot substantially the construction andarrangement shown in the drawings, of which Figure l is a front view ofa portion ot the length of the improved net as it. appears in use in thewater;

Fig'. 2 is a top plan view of the net-portion of Fig. l;y p

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but show- .ing the normal pendantpositions of the multiple pockets.

This netis an improved net of the pocket type, and while its uses are ingeneral those of the ordinary gill net, yet its construction is suchthat only the smallest fish caught are gilled, the result being thatmost of the fish caught are in better marketable condition than fishwhich have been gilled,

lfif'hile the ends of this net can be secured to stakes and thereby heldin position without float line or lead line, yet usually it will been'iployed with both float line and lead line and will be permitted todritt.

While Fig. 8 shows the net in use, with pockets fully distended as by acurrent of water, yet as ordinarily used the pockets lie 5 pendant (Fig.4) and in the vertical plane 1924. Serial No. 716,295.

of the net, to assist in entrapping the fish, as explained hereinafter.

The construction is as follows: As shown, the net comprises a long andrelatively narrow meshed web consisting of a multiplicity of smallpockets extending in both directions of length and depth of the net, thepockets being arranged preferably in horizontal and vertical rows, asshown. rllhese pockets are, at their mouths, about one toot square moreor less, i. e., not so very much wider than the average length ot fishwhich the net is designed to catch, although several fish may becomeentrapped in each pocket.

The net shown is one oi" the shallowest, being of the slightest depthsemployed, only four vertically-arranged pockets being shown; but when adeeper net is used as customarily, the number of pockets in eachvertical row will be more than that shown, up to say thirty pockets fora net approximately thirty feet deep. The limitation of four verticalpockets shown is due only to limitation of space on the drawing page. lnFig. l, the ends otl the long net are broken away, but in the averagenet or several hundred feet in length there will be approximatelyseveral hundreds of pockets in each horizontal row.

Each of the pockets P preferably is independently knitted to have thepreferable pocketfshape shown in Figs. 2 and 3, such knitting beingeected by any of the wellknown knitting methods for giving a pocket orpreferably the tunnel shape shown.

rlhe meshes of the pockets and the net as a whole preferably are small,i. e., they may be as small as a twoinch mesh more or less,-the ideabeing, in connection with the multiplicity of pockets, to catch ediblefish of all sizes with the minimum of gilling, i. e., the meshes beingso small as to gill only the smallest fish, and to catch by bodyentanglement practically all of the fish of desirable sizes.

In the example disclosed, the net is provided with the usual float lineFL equipped with cork fioats F, and with the ordinary lead line LLprovided with weights L. A

-method of assembly ot the multiplicity of pockets is as follows, asshown. The float line FL and lead line LL are laid out on the fioorparallel to one another at a distance from one another correspondingwith the loa depth of the completed net. Thereupon the multiplicity ofpreviously knitted pockets l? are laid on the floor in the locationsthey are to have in the completed net; the top Vhorizontal row ofpockets having the meshes of their upper sides threaded on the floatline; and the bottom horizontal row oi pockets having the meshes oftheir bottoms sides threaded by the lead line; and the lioats F andleads L being strung on the lioatand lead-lines respectively at desire(intervals and interposed along` the successive pockets. Next, thevertical lines VL, succesively, are secured at one set ol' ends to, say,the float line FL. Each vertical line or cord VL is then threaded,throughout its length, through the meshes et adjacent vertical sides oi'two adjacent vertical rows ot pockets P. Preferably, as shown, the lineVL is threaded iirst through a mesh ofi a vertical side of a pocket inone vertical row, and then through a mesh of the adjacent side of theadjacent pocket in an adjacent row.

rlhe horizontal lines HL are threaded or interwoven with horizontaladjacent sides ot pockets l? oi adjacent horizontal rows in a mannersimilar to that above described in respect ot' vertical lines VL.

Preferably, at the corners oic each pocket P, the horizontal lines HLand the vertical lines- VL are knotted together as shown at K. Thisgives a slight desirable rigidity to the entire net structure(maintaining a permanent assembly of the horizontal and verticalsupporting lines) which holds together the multiplicity ot smallpockets; but suol 'slight rigidity does not interfere with the desiredgive-and-tale movements et the sides ot the pockets au d the consequententangling action of the pockets on the fish to be described; that is,the meshes oit a given pocket, along the sides of the mouth thereof,through which the vertical and horizontal lines pass, are free to slidealong the vertical and horizontal lines, and the portions of thehorizontal and vertical lines which support the sides of the pocket alsoare free to yield laterally under movements of a lish in a pocket so asto contract the pocket mouth and prevent the escape oit the fish by itsturning` around just previous to its becoming` entangled in the flexibleportions of the pocket remote trom the pocket mouth.

In the case oif nets designed to be held in place between stakes, andnot provided with float line FL or lead line LL, said float andlead-lines will be replaced by ordinary horizontal lines HL.

The `result oi this construction (with pockets pendant in the plane of'thel horizonl al and vertical lines, Fig. 4;) is a net of the area cilan ordinary gill net, but consistingy of an assembly ot pockets, ofwhich a plurality are disposed vertically and a plurality horizontally,each pocket being ot comparatively small mouth-diameter, i. e.,preferably narrower than the length oit the iish to be caught, and theentire net having comparatively small meshes. also preterably the lengthoit the pocket, from mouth to closed end, is at least as great as thelength olf the lish to be caught.

rlhe invention is embodied in a net having the described multiplicityoil small pockets, independently ot the particular method oitconstruction, although the aliovedescribed construction is prelferred,i. e., involving the horizontal and vertical supporting lines.

ln the use olf this net, t ie pockets F hang more or less downwardly inthe plane oit the net (Fig. Ll), as distinguished from the very unusualcondition shown in Fig. 3 which might result from an unusually strongcurrent, and a condition least eilicient as to the entangled action ofthe multiple pockets. Tl operative condition of the net (Fig. 4) is notshown in Fig. l on account of the practical impossibility oit makingsuch a showing in side elevation. Fig. l merely indicates the mouths orentrances of the pockets between the four square sides oit therficlretauouth, which is the condition when net as a whole is distendedin use. The i mouths oii pockets F lie facing the arin Fig. 3 which maybe taken to indie the direction oi approach ott the iish toward the net.Flainly, the contiguous n mouths of the multiplicity oi '-.ride ope'pockets (notwithstanding the pendant portions ot t ie pockets which hangbehint'i the mouths 'if pockets beneath them) provide an area e tendingthe entire width and length oit the net.y all et which area is suhjcctto entrance by the lish (through the mouths ot the adjacentniultiplicity oit pockets), as ii, so 'tar as this is concerned, therewere no pockets whatever or the net were actually a gill net. l3ntimmediately upon fish passing beyond vertical and horizontal lines VLand into the mouth of a pocket, his nose engages against the pendantportion of the particular pocket l? in which the iish enters. rlhereuponensues a. very ditiiercnt action from that in any fish not heretoforedevised, particularly owing to the small size of the pockets as comparedwith porliet nets heretotore devised. The pendant portion ol the pocketOilers practically no resistance to the further progress of the l'ish. Alish cannot more backwards, and on feeling the slight pressure o'l thependant poel-:et meshes, the fish either continues 'farther i'orwardmoti-on, under way, lifting the pendant pocket-` or else starts to turnaround, or makes a little ot bolli move ments. is indicatedlin Figs. 2and 3, the pockets have a depth, Ytrom mouths to closed ends, which issomewhat greater than the diameter of the mouth, more or less, in order"ifi ris

fi t) to accommodate at least the full length of the fish including thetail. That is, the length of the pocket preferably exceeds the length ofthe fish, ibut the diameter of the mouth of the pocket preferably isless than the length of the fish. As the fish struggles with its noseagainst the closed side or end of the pocket, exerting a strain on thepocket, the sides of the mouth of t-he individual pocket contract by theSliding of the meshes along the vertical and horizontal supporting linesVL and HL, with the result that the mouth-opening diminishes and thediameter of the pocket throughout its length diminishes, and the linesVL and HL at the sides of the pocket yield, all thereby tending toenvelop the fish and make it practically impossible for it to turnaround and escape even through the contracted mouth of the pocket. rlheresult is that the fish becomes so entangled in the pocket net that heis actually substantially as well entrapped as if there were no openmouth to the pocket. A reason for the small diameter of the pocketmouth, i. e., preferably less than the length of the fish designed to becaught, is to assist in entanglement and entrapping by making itextremely difficult for the fish to turn around and escape. Also thesmaller diameter of the closed ends of the pockets (as compared with themouths thereof) assists in the entrapping. The multiple small-pocketconstruction, in effect, permits a give-and-take of each individualpocket portion of the net, thereby contributing to the entanglement. Thefreedom of movement of the parts of the comparatively small pockets ismore particularly emphasized in the intermediate portions of the netbetween the float line and lead line, in which intermediate portionthere is a greater eX- tent of give-and-take slack of the horizontallines HL and vertical lines VL which is additional to the freedom ofmovement permitted by the sliding of the sides of the meshed pockets onsaid horizontal and vertical lines. l

The above entrapping is effected without any gilling save of fish sosmall as to get their gills through the small meshes of the net.Preferably, the meshes are so small as to avoid gilling all but thesmallest fish. On the 'other hand, the pockets and their mouthspreferably are sufficiently large to entrap the largest sizes of ediblefish.

1t is not necessary that the top of the net be at or about water levelWL, as shown in Fig. 1; for the top of the net may lbe held down, byheavily leading the net at the bottom, twenty or twenty-five feet belowwater level in cases of considerable boat traffic.

The combination of the multiplicity of small pockets, with the smallmesh of the net, has two important practical advantages, i. e., (l)efficiency in entra-pping all fish, and (2) economy in providing asingle net which will catch all desired sizes of fish instead of thenecessity prior to my invention of a fishermans owning and employinghalf a dozen or more ordinary nets, each having a different size mesh,to gill various sizes of fish.

rlhe advantage of having a single net for all sizes of edible fish issufficiently obvious. [i single net of my construction, for example, maybe used in lieu of half a dozen nets, more or less, of various sizemesh, ruiming from a two-inch mesh, through two and onehalf, two andthree-quarters, three, three and a half, four and four and oneehalf, upto eight or nine inch mesh-for the larger edible fish.

The efficiency of my net in catching fish is not so clear as theadvantage of economy in nets. rlhe fact is that with the ordinary gillnet, generally twenty per cent of the fish engaging the net are lost.Many fish engaging a gill net at slow speed, and feeling the net withoutbeing gilled, turn, swim along the net and pass around its ends. Also ina gill net fish are held, at least for a time, either by actuallygilling, or by nosing where the fish is held in the net by its nose.lVhen a portion of a gill net is lifted to remove the fish to the boat,the nosed 7 fish frequently are lost. Also the gilled fish, in removal,frequently are lost. @ther and strong fish are lost through breakingthrough the meshes of a defective net, as by struggling forward afterbeing gilled. Also in a gill net (which, of course, has meshes largeenough to gill the fish), the smaller fish pass through such meshes andthey also are lost, and the fish are not caught which are larger than anet of a given mesh. This accounts for such large loss of fish whichhave engaged more or less in the ordi-- nary gill net, lacking theentangling means of my pocket net. ln my net, as stated, only thesmallest fish are gilled, and most of the catch lies entangled in thepockets, so that when the successive portions of the net are liftedalongside the boat, the fish in the pockets readily can be dumped intothe boat, without loss of the fish and without the trouble of removinggilled fish.

l am aware that it is not new to provide a gill net with pockets, as thesame is shown, for example, in the United States patent to Fox1,016,881, dated 6 February, 1912. But, in the first place, my netsubstantially is not a gill net. And my net plainly differs from saidgill net in the essential re` spects pointed out in the appended claims;and my net has the two above-specified fea" tures of important utility,neither of which is possessed by said gill net.

I particularly point out and distinctly claim the t, improvementj orcoinhiii:-.- tion Whi` chti-ii as; my invention or (iiscovery7 as, @lloiz l. in entangling poclreted lish net conipraising` a small-meshed wel)which is long and relatively narrow and is 'formed with horizontally andvvertically extending` rows of individually-separate pockets formed withmouths and depths ot dimensions ot the general order oi" magnitude ofthe lengths ot the lish to he caught; and horizontal and Verticalsupporting` lines threaded through side meshes ot adjacent pockets.

ln entangling poclteted lish-net which comprises a longl and relativelynarrow web consisting-ot a multiplicity or individuallyn separatesmall-meshed poel-:ets arranged in horizontal and Vertical rows andhaving` enitrance openings on one side surface ot the net; andhorizontal and vertical supporting lines holding together in the net thehorizontally-adjacent and vertically-adjacent pockets ot said respectivej iocket-rows.

3. fin entangling` pocketed iish-net comprising a wel) consisting` oit amultiplicity ot individually-separate nieshcd pockets, and horizontaland vertical supporting, lines holding` saio pockets together in saidWeb; said pockets having mouths and lengths of sul stantially thegeneral order oit magnitude as the fish desired to he caught.

4. An entangling; pocketed {ish-net coinprising a multiplicity ofindividually-separate nieshed pockets, and lines supportingl adjacentsides ot adjacent pockets and threadecL alternatelj7 through a side meshot one pocletand a side mesh ot the adjacent potntet.

tn entaiurling poclfeted iish-net comprocing' a multiplicity ot individuallysepa rate ineshed pockets arranged in horizontal and Vertical rows:and horizontal and vertical lines holding' adjacent pockets together andthreaded through the side meshes ot adjacent pockets.

5. .An entangijling pocleted fish-net conijn'ising;l a multiplicity otindividually-sepaate meshed poche" arranged in vertical and horizontalrow and horizontal and vertical lines holding adjacent pockets toigether and threaded through the side meshes oi" adjacent pockets; saidsupporting; lines being; li'notted together at the junctions et thevertically-adjacent and horizontallyadjacent pockets.

An entanggling poeketed lislrnet com .c a multiplicity otindividually-sepa- 'ate meshed pockets arranged in iffrtical andhorizontal rows; and Vertical and horizontal lines holding; adjacentpockets tocr-ether, and threaded alternately through a side n'iesh otone pocket and a side mesh olf an adjacent pocket, said supportingllines heing' knotted together at the junctions of thc vverticallyadjacent and horizontally adjacent pockets.

1r. Josera LEE GoULnrNe.

mark

lllitnesses J. E. SKIPPER, S. F. J. TRABUn.

